US Army wants to court-martial rape victim

Originally posted by LooseLipsSinkShips
This sounds like something out of Saudi Arabia!

It does kinda sound like another thread doesnt it? Rape victim being punished and all....
Where is all the outcry over this?
Mostly all I see are apologists saying absurd things like 'what did she expect' and 'she is just trying to get out of duty'.

I told you earlier what she expected, and it wasnt to be raped, and as far as the allegations that she is trying to get out of serving well that is absurd.
She VOLUNTEERED for the army.
If her intent was not to serve then she wouldnt have VOLUNTEERED.

Originally posted by 11Bravo
It does kinda sound like another thread doesnt it? Rape victim being punished and all....
Where is all the outcry over this?

Is that why you posted this story? To try and vindicate your position in the Saudi thread? It doesn't sound anything like that thread, since this woman went AWOL, was caught, then decided to report that she was harassed secondary to not believing in the reason she was in Iraq...in fact it seems to be a completely opposite story. The woman in Saudi Arabia had alot to lose from reporting her gang rape causing her to be punished severely, the woman in this story had something to gain from reporting her harassment, possibly attempting to lessen her punishment. As everybody else has pointed out, it said nothing of rape, and molestation by definition means...

mo·lest (m-lst)
tr.v. mo·lest·ed, mo·lest·ing, mo·lests
1. To disturb, interfere with, or annoy.
2. To subject to unwanted or improper sexual activity
www.thefreedictionary.com...

Sexual activity could be showing somebody porn they don't wanna see, it depends on the author I guess....

Soldiers, just like with any job, should be punished to the fullest extent if they sexually harass another soldier. There is NO excuse, such as they have pent up sexual frustration, that's BS and they all have hands if it's that bad. But since she went AWOL, was caught, then reported it second to her just not wanting to be there, she cast doubts on her credibility. Perhaps if there was documentation that she reported this before, nothing was done, then she went AWOL it might make more sense. But to compare this to the Saudi gang rape thread is just ridiculous...at least you didn't say if she hadn't joined the army, she wouldn't have been harassed.

[edit on 7-11-2006 by 27jd]

First off for anyone who did any harrasment they should be punnished.
Second, for any one who would think that they would not be sent to where the war is, Irac, is defently being naive.

for a defination for those who want it.

extremely simple and trusting: having or showing an excessively simple and trusting view of the world and human nature, often as a result of youth and inexperience

Encarta

The types of harrasment that were described in the innerview I was subjected just about every day in the military. Maby harrasment or maby just the way the unit worked. Although things did change a little bit after tail hook.

Originally posted by Astronomer70
Is your headline intentionally misleading?

Is it?
I dont think so myself, but I guess only time will tell.
Hmmmm, I wonder if I will have to change the title of my thread....
I suppose if it were something along the lines of "Military Courtmartials woman for being raped" I would have to change it, but then again, if I worded my title like that it WOULD be misleading.
Just something to think about.

Originally posted by 11Bravo
Mostly all I see are apologists saying absurd things like .... and 'she is just trying to get out of duty'.

Oh brother. You didn't bother to read what I said, did you? Nope.

I'm not an apologist. And I'm not saying 'absurd things'.

I am a FEMALE. I was in the ARMY. I had two cases of sexual harrassment done against me .. one by an NCOIC in my chain of command and another by an officer.

I gave FACTS. FACTS that show she had many, many avenues that she could have gone through if she was indeed harrassed. Many avenues in which justice would have been SWIFT. And there is no doubt that she knew the avenues to pursue and would have been given the space and ability to pursue them.

But no, she didn't follow the rules. Instead she goes AWOL and then afterwards says that she feels the war is without purpose ... and then after that she says 'oh by the way I was harrassed'.

Yeah, right. I still smell a skunk.

Originally posted by 11Bravo
I told you earlier what she expected, and it wasnt to be raped,

And according to the allegations she wasn't raped. You keep saying 'raped'. She claims to have been harrassed and/or molested. That's different.

If her intent was not to serve then she wouldnt have VOLUNTEERED.

That's not necessarily true. Lots of people sign up thinking it'll be an easy paycheck, or that they can get free schooling, or whatever. Lot's of people sign up and think they won't have to go into a hot zone. Most women sign up thinking that since women are technically not allowed in combat then they won't have to go to hot zones. Once they find out that they can indeed be deployed to those hot spots they panic and do what they can to get out of the military and out of the contract that they signed.

You can't claim to know what her intentions for signing up were. You don't know.



[edit on 11/7/2006 by FlyersFan]

First, it is a fact that the Army has been recruiting teenagers, telling them they wouldn't have to go to Iraq, they will be doing some other important work. Hey, that would make sense to me and I even know a guy who was told he wouldn't have to go to Iraq and he hasn't because they've put him stateside doing some decoding work. So the Army lies to the kids, recruits them and then sends then to Iraq anyway. Does anyone else see this as fraud? Second, there are many, many young women who don't report molest, rape or sexual harassment for several reasons: They're afraid they won't be believed (as evidenced by some of the disbelief on this very thread); second, they're afraid they will receive reprisals or that it will get back to the abusers and they will make it even worse; it's humiliating to even talk about, much less report.

I've also been on the receiving end of sexual harrassment, twice but not as bad as what this individual went through. It is humiliating and degrading and it isn't always met with understanding or even respect. While one person on this thread has had a good experience in reporting, that doesn't mean that every woman will end up with such a good response. And I have seen many, many reports in reliable mainstream news sources that have reported this same thing numerous times and have even said there is a real problem with it in the Army. Don't forget, this is a different Army than even 10 years ago, it's changed. If Abu Ghraib can happen, why is it so hard to believe that sexual harassment might happen to a female soldier?

Lastly, it isn't as if she has nothing to lose. Being court-martialed due to AWOL follows you the rest of your life, everywhere. She is risking alot to come forward with this, not to mention the ridicule she will receive from the public. No, I don't think this is something she did lightly.

Originally posted by forestlady
They're afraid they won't be believed (as evidenced by some of the disbelief on this very thread); second, they're afraid they will receive reprisals or that it will get back to the abusers and they will make it even worse; it's humiliating to even talk about, much less report.

Agreed, but are you saying women never falsely report such things for various reasons? It's a complicated issue, but this women went AWOL and didn't report anything until she was caught. That warrants suspicion.

Lastly, it isn't as if she has nothing to lose. Being court-martialed due to AWOL follows you the rest of your life, everywhere. She is risking alot to come forward with this, not to mention the ridicule she will receive from the public. No, I don't think this is something she did lightly.

She didn't come back from going AWOL to report it, she was arrested, then reported it....

No, I'm not saying women never fake it. I'm saying that most women are telling the truth and these types of reports should not be ignored but investigated. Yes, it's possible she's saying that to get out of going to Iraq, however, she WAS lied to by the recruiters. I'm saying at least give her the benefit of the doubt and investigate, before you judge her. It would be very normal for a young woman to not report molest, it's very humiliating. And she didn't want to rock the boat. I'm also saying, that so often, these poor women are doubted, ridiculed and subjected to alot of humiliation, when they do report sex harassment, molest, etc.

Originally posted by LooseLipsSinkShips
This sounds like something out of Saudi Arabia! What happened to the good ole days of rampant prostitution in the far East? Our boys need an outlet for the pent up energy.

I believe the Army needs to teach these neanderthals how to JACK OFF in basic training. Maybe every other man in the platoon needs to put on a wig and bend over? What is with people who cannot control themselves? And lest everyone think that it is only a problem with the Army, remember that the Air Force Academy has been rampant with allegations of sexual harrasment and misconduct.

Don't ask. Don't tell. And don't punish the guilty parties.

Originally posted by forestlady
these poor women are doubted, ridiculed and subjected to alot of humiliation, when they do report sex harassment, molest, etc.

That wasn't my experience at all when I reported it in the Army.
And it wasn't the experience of my friend when she reported it in the Army.

Perhaps civilians get the 'blame the victim' thing but in the military every accusation is treated SERIOUSLY.

I'd like to see information that shows statistics on women in the military being treated as you said for reporting sexual harrassment. I'm not calling you a liar .. I'm saying that from my 5 years in the Army and how I was treated, as well as how my friend was treated, what you have said simply was not the case and I view your assessment as highly improbable.

Originally posted by 27jd
She didn't come back from going AWOL to report it, she was arrested, then reported it....

Yep. And the alleged molestation wasn't the first reason she gave for going AWOL. Her first reason was that the war lacked purpose. Then when it was obvious that the excuse was lame she then came up with the alleged molestation.




[edit on 11/11/2006 by FlyersFan]